Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $38.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Murphy Oil traded as high as $39.94 and last traded at $39.8050, with a volume of 793893 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.62.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Barclays raised Murphy Oil from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total transaction of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,049.14. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 84,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,387,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at about $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,074,000 after acquiring an additional 45,841 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,471 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 11.9% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 5,723 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.19.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.73% and a net margin of 3.83%.Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 194.44%.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.